IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Jenna Bush Hager reveals parents were ready to adopt before learning about twins

Former President George W. Bush and wife Laura tried to adopt before they discovered they were pregnant with their twins, Jenna and Barbara.
/ Source: TODAY

A photo that Jenna Bush Hager keeps by her bed serves as a sweet reminder of how much her parents wanted children.

It’s the picture they sent in with their application to an adoption agency, she revealed during a Mother’s Day lunch with other TODAY anchors.

George W. Bush and Laura Bush
Jenna keeps this photo that her parents sent in to an adoption application by her bed.Courtesy Jenna Bush Hager

“My parents couldn’t get pregnant for a lot of years, and so they tried to adopt, and the day they found they were pregnant with us was the day they found out that they had been accepted to adopt,” Jenna said over a TODAY moms lunch hosted at the home of Kathie Lee Gifford.

RELATED: The mothers of TODAY get real about mom guilt, work and motherhood

But after they discovered they were pregnant with twins — Jenna and her sister, Barbara — the Bushes decided to hold off on their adoption plans.

“But I keep that picture of them that they sent to the adoption agency by my bed,” Jenna revealed. “My mom used to say, ‘Doesn’t this just look like two people who are desperate to have children?’”

Jenna described the story while celebrating the recent arrival of Hoda Kotb’s daughter, Haley Joy, whom she adopted earlier this year.

Hoda told her fellow TODAY moms that it still "feels a little weird" to know that she's finally a mother.

"I can’t believe the greatest joy of my life came at 52," she said.

Jenna Bush Hager
Jenna Bush Hager describes her parents' journey to having children during a Mother's Day lunch.Zach Pagano/TODAY

But Jenna said Hoda's journey to motherhood has helped open people's minds.

“For you, with Haley, that’s what you’ve done," she said. "You’ve changed a lot of people’s ideas on what motherhood is."

Follow Eun Kyung Kim on Twitter or Facebook.

RELATED: